


To Be Human

by magicianparrish



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Cooking, Family, Family Fluff, M/M, Nile POV, Post-Canon, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, nile just dealing with some boy BS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28220841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicianparrish/pseuds/magicianparrish
Summary: Andy had left her alone with the three men, and tasked Nile to just observe and “see how it’s done”. Though she had smirked when she left those directions which sent some alarms in Nile’s head.She loved the three men. Truly she did. They were all very kind and welcoming and she got along with them with ease. But it was also three men, who ranged from nearly nine hundred and forty years old to just over two hundred. A lot of years of experience shared between them, and it was just a little bit intimidating. After their whole debacle with Merrick and soon after with Quýnh, and subsequently getting Booker back from his exile prematurely, they had been through a lot together. But Nile still felt like a green cadet who was still in boot camp. And she suspected it would be that way for a few years yet._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Some slice of life with Nile learning that even old immortals are still human too.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Nile Freeman & Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani & Nicky | Nicolo di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nile Freeman & Nicky | Nicolo di Genoa
Comments: 9
Kudos: 225





	To Be Human

**Author's Note:**

> This little piece came from a little dust bunny (that was the first little story) and it just spiraled from there. Hope you enjoy! 
> 
> (Not edited or beta'd so all mistakes are mine)

**1**

Stakeouts might have been the most boring part of this new life for Nile. Which was really saying something. As a now newly minted immortal warrior in a ragtag team, there was plenty of excitement to be had on a daily basis. Always on the move, traveling to remote places that Nile would’ve never ever dreamed of going before. She was in the midst of her training for the new life, learning languages from all of them, how to use weapons of all kinds with deadly accuracy, how to blend into crowds in the age of digital surveillance. It was a lot, and there usually weren't too many boring days to be had with them. 

But having to stake out in an abandoned building for part of reconnaissance in the middle of the night? Nile wasn’t looking forward to it. Nicky had been tasked to set up his sniper’s nest and keep a lookout for anything of suspicion from his vantage point. Nile had been impressed with how quickly he had set up the gun and position. Joe had been in charge of setting up some bugs during the day in disguise as a routine maintenance man and was now listening in with some heavy-duty equipment. Booker was using a special pair of infrared binoculars to track the movement of warm bodies through the building. Andy had left her alone with the three men, and tasked Nile to just observe and “see how it’s done”. Though she had smirked when she left those directions which sent some alarms in Nile’s head. 

She loved the three men. Truly she did. They were all very kind and welcoming and she got along with them with ease. But it was also three men, who ranged from nearly nine hundred and forty years old to just over two hundred. A lot of years of experience shared between them, and it was just a little bit intimidating. After their whole debacle with Merrick and soon after with Quýnh, and subsequently getting Booker back from his exile prematurely, they had been through a lot together. But Nile still felt like a green cadet who was still in boot camp. And she suspected it would be that way for a few years yet. 

It turned out that being on a stakeout with professionals was very boring. There had been little chatter between the four of them for the last five hours they had been in the large, empty room together. Nile wasn’t even sure if Nicky had moved a single muscle either. He was as still as a statue. 

“ _ Merde _ ,” Booker cursed, breaking the silence finally. Joe and Nile turned their attention to the Frenchman. “I have to piss.” 

Joe raised a single eyebrow, but Nile didn’t even break a sweat over it. She grew up with a younger brother and many male cousins, on top of being in the military. It seemed to her that no matter what century you were born, men tended to act the same nonetheless. 

“You should’ve gone to the bathroom before we left the safe house like the rest of us,” Nicky quietly commented. He never even took his attention away from his scope. 

Joe’s lips twitched just a little to form a small smirk. Booker scoffed and threw his hands up in the air, cursing some more in French. He got up from where he was sitting next to Nicky and started to walk around. 

“I didn’t have to go then, Nicky,” he hit back. 

“Well that sounds like a problem for you then,” Nicky retorted. 

It was such a well-executed backhanded comment that Nile couldn’t help the snort that came out of her mouth. She quickly put her hand over it to try and stifle it but it was no use. Joe’s smile widened. Booker turned to them with an exasperated look on his face. He gestured with his hands toward Joe. 

“Joe, I would expect it, but you ma chérie? Nile, you would take his side?” he complained. 

Nile tried to even her breathing after a moment and waved her hand as she took a deep breath. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek as she looked up at Booker’s face. He truly looked annoyed at this whole situation. He had his hands on his hips, the binoculars hanging limply in his hand. 

“Sorry, sorry. It was just too good,” Nile replied. 

Booker let out a long-suffering sigh and ran his hand through his blonde hair and over his face. He muttered under his breath shaking his head. 

“Unbelievable.” 

“Booker, you think you’d learn by now,” Joe said leaning back in his chair stretching his arms behind his head, and locking his hands. “That Nicolò here is a mother hen.” 

Nicky threw an empty cartridge at Joe, which smacked him in the chest which only elicited a laugh. A laugh that showcased how easy it was to be with them. How safe it was to be with them. Joe’s laugh could light up an entire room. 

“Oh hayati, you know it is true.” 

Nicky scoffed. “Do not distract me, Yusuf.” 

“I would do no such thing.” 

They went back to silence after that. Five minutes later Nicky sighed and finally took his eye off the scope to turn around to face them. Booker had taken to leaning against the wall, with his legs crossed. 

“I am just saying, if you had just gone before we left, you would not be in this problem,” Nicky said, bringing up the argument again. 

Booker shook his head. “Not everyone can have the bladder of a camel, Nicky. I know you’re like seven hundred years older than me, but I died at an older age than you. Bodies change when you get old.”

“I would hardly call forty-two old, Sebastien,” Nicky scoffed. 

“For the life expectancy in those days? People wondered how I had not been a  _ grand-père _ then.” 

The two men continued to argue back and forth with each other. At one point they had both started to talk in their respective tongues, but still somehow understood each other to keep it going. Nile and Joe had been watching it like an interesting tennis match. Though Nile could only understand half of what it was they were saying. Italian came much easier to her than French ever did. 

Finally, she had enough. She took the water bottle she had brought with her, finished it off, capped it, and then threw it at Booker who caught it but not without stumbling like had been shot. Nicky and Booker both looked at her with surprised expressions, though Nicky’s was much more subtle. 

“I’m tired of hearing you two argue about whether or not you should pee before leaving the house. Booker, for God’s sake just piss in the bottle and be over with it,” Nile said. 

“What?” he exclaimed. A blush dusted his cheeks. “I can’t, I can’t do that!” 

“Booker, I grew up with a younger brother and many boy cousins. You think I haven’t seen a guy piss into a water bottle before? Because I have, and it was in much more cramped spaces than this open room. Just walk to a corner, turn around, do your business, and be done.” 

The Frenchman looked at the bottle with his mouth open. Nicky and Joe were wearing equal expressions of admiration and love at her. 

“Fucking hell,” Booker muttered finally before walking away to take care of his business. 

“Nile, I could kiss you right now,” Joe sighed with a smile. “That was great.” 

Nile shrugged her shoulders and tried to brush it off. “Well, you know. Lot’s of experience I guess.” 

“And you can see that Booker grew up as an only child now too,” Nicky pointed out before turning back to his scope. 

“Really?” Nile said, looking back at the man in question. “So you have experience then too?” 

“I grew up with two brothers and three sisters before I went to seminary. There was no such thing as privacy. I have been, what’s the word Joe?” he asked, waving his hand. 

“Desensitized.” 

“Sì, that.  _ Desensitized _ to most things relating to the human body for many centuries. It is a lesson Booker is still learning.” 

Booker came back and practically shoved the water bottle away. “Hope you’re all happy,” he grumbled. 

“Always, Booker,” Joe said with a smile. “Always.”

**2**

Nile had already been at the dining table when Nicky had shown up. Which was kind of odd in itself, as Nicky was always the first to rise and be puttering around. It had been her, Andy, and Booker, sitting together silently eating their cereal they had made for breakfast. 

Nicky was dressed in his usual t-shirt and jeans as he muttered a “Buongiorno.” He opened up the cabinets and found some oats they had bought at the store in the small village twenty minutes from their current safehouse in Belarus. He poured them into a bowl, dropped some milk, and then put it in the microwave for a few minutes, as he then proceeded to chop up some bananas and strawberries to go inside the oatmeal. It was a very simple meal for Nicky’s standards. He mixed in his fruits and grabbed the bowl straight out of the microwave, burning his fingers with a soft curse, shaking it out before proceeding forward again and bringing it to the table. 

He sat down across from Nile and gave her his customary smile in greeting before heartily eating the meal. Another thing Nile was still getting used to with her newfound family was the way they all tended to just shovel down whatever food they had in front of them. Always perpetually in the mental state of rushing. Nile had always been a notoriously slow eater, opting to chat over meals and savoring the flavors. In the time it took Nile to eat three more spoonfuls of her cereal, Nicky had already finished and was scraping his bowl. He stood up and went back to the kitchen to wash his dishes. 

“What’s got you in a rush?” Booker asked, taking a sip of orange juice. 

“Many things to do today,” Nicky replied but not elaborating as he left the kitchen and went deeper into the house. 

They all looked at the spot Nicky had just occupied for a minute. Andy ate another bite of her own breakfast. 

“Nicky and Joe are fighting,” she observed, with her mouth full. 

Nile, who had been taking a sip of her own drink, started to choke and cough violently. Booker leaned over and gently patted her back as she hunched over to get the fluid out and in the right direction. She gave one last hard cough before she turned around to where Nicky had come from. She pointed a finger in that direction. 

“How the hell did you figure that one out?” 

Nothing really seemed amiss. Nile had assumed that he and Joe had decided to start the morning late with some room escapades that Nile did not want to be privy to. Just because Joe and Nicky had been head over heels in love with each other for nine hundred years didn’t mean they did everything together. Seeing them separated was pretty normal actually. 

“Nicky isn’t clean-shaven,” Booker pointed out, shrugging.

She gave Booker a look of disbelief. “What’s that got to do with anything?” 

The two older immortals shared a look between the two of them. Andy just raised her eyebrows as she tipped her bowl to drink the milk from it. Booker just rolled his eyes shaking his head. 

“Joe hates beard burn,” Booker said. 

“ _ What _ ?” 

“I’m not repeating it,” he sighed. 

Nile hadn’t noticed it at first, but she still didn’t see the big deal. They had all changed their appearances up to avoid detection. Andy had bleached her hair a platinum blonde, while Joe had tragically shaved most of his hair off, and Nile had switched out her braids for her natural hair, and Booker just cleaned up his face a little. Nicky himself had started to grow his hair longer, and came down just past his ears now. His deciding not to be clean-shaven either didn’t seem like that big of a change, but apparently, it was. 

“Whenever Nicky and Joe fight, Nicky grows out his facial hair to annoy Joe because Joe is wimpy when it comes to it,” Andy explained more. 

“But Joe has a full beard,” Nile countered. 

“Wimpy when he has to deal with it when they go ahead and kiss and have sex and whatnot,” Andy replied. 

Nile stood up. “All right, that is TMI and I could’ve gone the rest of my immortal life without knowing that.” 

“You wouldn’t have lasted a decade not knowing that. At least you had the bandaid ripped from you. I had to find out the hard way,” Booker grumbled. 

“It seems you found out a lot of things the hard way,” Nile said, raising her eyebrows at the Frenchman. 

“You’re right. Privacy is a novel concept to these lot.” 

Andy smacked Booker in the arm, and they shared that secret look of love that could only come from two hundred years of being in each others’ presence. But it was a different form of love, not the one that Nicky and Joe made, but it was a love of siblings. Nile made the same faces with her own brother back before all of this. 

As Nile washed her own dish, she turned back to the other two. “What do you think they are fighting about anyway?” 

“Who knows could be anything,” Andy said. “Best not to worry. They’ll work it out with each other as they always do.”

Three days later and it seemed that they had not worked it out. Nicky now sported the nice startings of a beard, that if Nile were completely honest, worked well in his favor. They had all sat around to play a game of Uno, that Nile had to teach them the rules to. And it seemed that they were all taking it way too seriously. They were all hunched over, and holding their cards literally close to their chests so no one could see. The air was tense, and Nile felt she was in the middle of a mission rather than playing a silly card game for kids. 

“Ay!” Joe exclaimed suddenly. He gestured toward Nicky who was eyeing his cards intensely. “You did it again!” 

“Did what again?” Nile asked. 

Joe put his cards on the table but still made sure they were face down. He then pointed an accusing finger toward Nicky who only then raised his eyes above his own cards. 

“I am bound together by my soul to a deceitful cheater!” Joe declared. 

Nicky turned his head to the side, looking like a confused puppy. Some of his long hair flopped in front of his face. 

“That is a harsh statement to be made with no evidence, Tesoro,” Nicky replied innocently. 

“No, no, no, no,” Joe said wagging a finger. “Do not play innocent with all of us. You looked at my cards and you know it!” 

“I did no such thing, and the fact that you’d accuse me of that is ridiculous,” Nicky said lifting his head higher. 

“You, Nicolò di Genova, are a cheater at all games. You always have been! You cheated last week when we played Monopoly, and you swindled men when we went to markets in the twelfth century too. Once a cheater always a cheater, I say.” 

Nile looked between the two of them for a moment. She waved her hand between them. “Is this what y’all were fighting about all this time?” 

“How did you know we were fighting?” Joe wondered. 

“I told her about the facial hair,” Andy said gesturing towards Nicky’s face. 

Joe scoffed. Nicky’s face was stone, but Nile could see the mirth in his sea-glass colored eyes. He was enjoying the chaos way too much.  _ It’s always the quiet ones _ , Nile thought to herself. 

“Well, Yusuf if you must insist I cheat, I must insist that it is not my fault you bleed your cards so easily and that men are so easy to swindle,” Nicky said, shrugging his shoulders. He then took out a card from his deck and put it down on the pile. “Uno.” 

Joe pointed a finger right in Nicky’s face, but Nicky just smiled at him. Joe let out a frustrated grunt but accepted his defeat. Nicky ended up winning the game anyway. And the next day he was back to being clean-shaven. 

**3**

It had been too early when Nile heard “ _ Gesù, Giuseppe, e Maria! _ ” Followed by a long line of Italian curses. 

Nile blinked the sleep away and groaned as she turned over in the small cot to see what time it was on the digital clock on her nightstand. The red numbers showcased 05:15 AM. 

“Son of a-” Nile grumbled. “It better be something good.” 

She rolled off her cot and grabbed a dagger that was next to her incase and slowly opened the door that led to the hallway. Joe seemed to have the same idea as she camp creeping out of the room he shared with Nicky, weapon also in hand. They nodded silently to each other as they started to make their way to where they heard Nicky’s cursing. 

“Nicky,” Joe whispered. “Nicolò?” he repeated when he got no answer. 

When they reached the main living area, they saw that Nicky was in fact okay. He was standing over one of the ratty couches, where Nile could see the beginnings of Booker’s body laid over it. Nicky, who was still in his pajamas, had his arms crossed and a pinched expression on his face. 

“Nicky?” Joe asked, but his shoulders had relaxed at the sight. 

Nicky looked up and over at them. He looked displeased, an expression that Nile rarely saw on the older man. He gestured toward Booker who was happily passed out from a night on the town with Andy. 

“Bastardo brought home another animal again,” he grumbled. 

Nile felt her eyebrows raise on her head. Joe’s face had morphed into one of fondness, a small smile gracing his features as they both walked over to where Nicky was standing. Booker was indeed in the middle of a deep sleep, laying on his back, and slightly snoring. And right below him on the rug was a tiny puppy. It was lean and had short gray fur with some patches of white. Nile immediately felt her heartstrings tug at the sight of the small thing. 

“Awww,” she cooed quietly. “It’s so cute!” 

“I almost stepped on the thing!” Nicky complained. He then leaned over and slapped Booker on the face. 

Booker barely reacted, his face scrunching up for a moment before he blinked his bleary eyes open. 

“Huh?” he grunted. 

“Sebastien, I swear. You must stop bringing in animals to the house without telling anyone!” Nicky complained, not caring that the sun hadn’t risen yet. 

“What?” Booker slurred. 

Nicky picked up the puppy which was now shaking and thrust it in the Frenchman’s face. He squinted and sighed. “Ah, so that really did happen.” 

Nicky dropped the puppy onto Booker and wagged his finger. “You bring the animals to the house, you take care of them.”

Nile couldn’t help but think that Nicky sounded eerily just like her own mother, lecturing her and her brother on the responsibility it takes to take care of an animal. She shuffled closer to Joe. 

“Does this happen a lot?” 

Joe nodded. “Yeah. Booker has a soft spot for animals. The funniest time was when he brought home a raccoon. Nicky had never seen one before and nearly died from a heart attack he had been so freaked out.” 

They shared a soft laugh between the two of them. “Now that I would pay all the money in the world to see.” 

They watched as Nicky accosted Booker about animals, both enjoying the scene. Booker looked as if he was only half paying attention, his eyes already nodding back to sleep. 

“So does Nicky have a thing against animals or something?” Nile wondered. 

“Oh god no. Nicolò here is just living up to his true age, and being a grumpy old man in a perpetually thirty-year-old body. He likes to put up the facade of being annoyed by Booker’s little habit, but by the end of the day you’ll see him cuddling with the dog.” 

Nile scoffed. “Of course.” 

They both shuffled back to their respective bedrooms, letting Nicky and Booker duke it out alone. 

Because Joe knew his beloved inside and out, it did not come as a surprise to see Nicky out on the porch of their latest safe house, in the early dawn with the small dog. He was sitting in an old wicker rocking chair, holding a small cup of probably coffee, and the dog was sitting on his lap happy as all things. Nicky was just slowly rocking back and forth, taking sips of his drink and leisurely petting the dog. He looked like every grandpa Nile ever saw or imagined. It was like watching something straight out of a corny movie. 

A window was open allowing the brisk morning breeze to gently flow through the kitchen as Nile herself padded in. She had never been able to sleep in anyway. Her mother had always woke her up early to shuffle her off to a safe place to get the bus for school while she made her way to her early morning shifts at her job. And then being in the Marines didn’t allow her the luxury of sleeping in either, and it just stuck. 

There was some coffee still in the pot, and Nile happily took some for herself. It was warm as she wrapped her palms around the ceramic mug she chose. The scent of the beans wafted as she took a deep breath. Then she took a sip and savored the beauty that was Italian coffee. Though she did miss her Dominican beans from home, but what she drank then was a close second. She was thankful that Nicky was a bit of a snob when it came to coffee, and only got the good quality stuff. 

“No, no, you cannot have a sip, _biscotto_ ,” she heard Nicky mutter outside. 

“Oh, he’s named the dog. There’s no going back now,” Joe’s voice came from behind. 

Nile startled, nearly spilling her coffee all over the place. She had not even heard him come in. He gave a sheepish smile as he ran a hand over his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” he apologized, his voice still heavy with sleep. 

Once Nile’s heart stopped pounding out her chest she smiled back. “It’s okay. And does he always name the animals?” 

“Yes. Like I said, tries to put up a front, but his soft insides can’t stay there for long.” 

On that, they both could agree. 

**4**

Nile found Nicky outside on a veranda with Joe. They were casually sitting in a large swing chair together, gently rocking back and forth. Behind them was the orange sky of the setting sun, igniting them both. It was moments like that that Nile really thought of them as something more divine. They looked completely at peace. 

“Hey, here’s my list of things needed for tomorrow,” she greeted them. She had written down a list of things she wanted from the grocery store. She walked up and gave it to Nicky who took it but then immediately passed it on to Joe. Joe took it with ease and held up the paper close to the small lantern that was hanging above them for light. 

“Read what it says,” Nicky softly instructed. Nile felt as if she was interrupting a deeply intimate moment. But she felt that with most interactions with the two of them together. 

“Peaches, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, flour, eggs,” Joe read off methodically. “Uncooked shrimp, chicken broth, butter, cheddar cheese, grits (the Good Kind), garlic cloves, green onions, cajun seasoning...” 

When he was finished they looked at Nile. She wasn’t sure why she was still there. “Are you planning a feast? There are a lot of listed ingredients.” 

Nile crossed her arms. “You two are always cooking so much, so I want to do it for a change.” 

“It’s really Nicky here who cooks,” Joe pointed out. Nicky rolled his eyes but did not deny it. “But I think he may be willing to release the reins to you for one night.” 

That got Joe a light smack on the arm for his trouble. Joe just gave a winning smile to his love. 

“Yes I will,” Nicky agreed. “What is it you will be making? I recognize some of these things but not all.” 

“I’m gonna be taking y’all to church with some good old fashioned soul food home cooking,” Nile said, a feeling of pride. It was a way for her to stay connected to her past and family.

Nicky and Joe both raised their eyebrows in unison. Nicky tilted his head to the side, a quirk he did when he did not understand something fully but was willing to listen and learn. It was one of his more endearing qualities. 

“Sounds great,” Joe interrupted. “We’ll make sure we get everything you need.” 

* * *

Though Nicky said that he was going to hand off the oven mitts to Nile so to speak, he still ended up in the kitchen with her when she began to make her little feast for all of them. She could tell that he was trying not to hover, but she felt his presence like an everlasting shadow. He was so protective of his kitchen, it was almost comical. 

After a while, Nile decided to humor the older immortal. She let out a sigh, turning her head toward him. 

“You can come help,” she said. It was at that moment Nile realized how much she sounded like her mother. Full circle and all that. 

She had become much better at reading Nicky. Though he rarely showed his emotions outwardly, she had picked up on his little microexpressions. His posture straightened and he perked up like a flower that had finally found the sun. He took a few steps into the kitchen proper and looked over her shoulder at all the things cooking and simmering. 

“What do you need help with?” he asked. Even his voice sounded just a little giddy. Giddy enough for Nile to stop what she was doing and look over at him. His green eyes were piercing and earnest as they always were. His lips ticked up just a little. 

“Help me read the measurements for the ingredients,” Nile instructed, pointing to a little index card she had written the recipe on. 

Nicky eyed the card for a moment, before going back to the mess in front of them. “Why don’t I help mixing it together for you.” 

It was a swift turn around, that Nile would be impressed with normally. But coming from Nicky it felt odd. She looked at him for a moment, trying to read his face. But he was now a closed book. He still looked like an eager puppy though, willing to please. She decided to let it slide. 

“Sure,” she drew out. She gave him the large spoon and he took it with a closed-lip smile. Nile then started to measure and pour out all the ingredients into one of the many pans while Nicky slowly stirred it. 

“It smells delicious,” he complimented. He leaned in and took a deep inhale, his eyes closing for a moment. “Perfect for the cold weather.” 

“Yeah, my mom used to make this for us in the winter. Warmed you right up from the inside out,” Nile replied. 

“Do you enjoy cooking?” he asked casually. 

“I never really appreciated it all that much. It’s an exhausting process, I don’t know how you do it almost every night.” 

Nicky let out a soft chuckle. “Centuries worth of practice, I suppose.” 

Nile chuckled herself. “Touché.” 

They continued together in comfortable silence. Nile thought it would be more of a production with two people at the helm in the kitchen, but it was smooth. Nicky wouldn’t overstep her boundaries, and he gently requested she read the directions and ingredient measurements for her. They switched back and forth between the dishes, helping each other out. Nile found that she actually really appreciated the help of another person who had enough experience to probably be the best cook in the entire world. 

“So why do you enjoy cooking so much?” Nile wondered as she poured her jalapeño cornbread mix into a cast-iron skillet. 

“I find it relaxing, and it connects me to home,” Nicky replied easily. “I was a quiet child, if not a little rambunctious. My brother who had been born first had been chosen as the heir to my father’s fortune and shipping company. While I was the spare, I never had any interest in it. I was always hiding from my tutors. You would find me always under the toes of the cooks in the kitchen in the estate, watching and mimicking the food they made. The process fascinated me, and they always humored me as a child. So I learned from them, and I think cooking helps me retain their memory. My family, as old as they are, will always have some sort of written record of their existence, but no one ever thinks of the people who helped make it so. The servants, the maids who kept the estate pristine, the wet nurses and governesses who raised the kids, the tutors who educated them, the cooks who fed them. They’re all important too. So I enjoy cooking because I remember how much I enjoyed my time being there and being with them.” 

Nile was shocked into silence at his answer. She was just expecting something much simpler, like “I enjoy food and making it!” She shook her head clearing the mental fog that had covered it for a moment and cursed when she realized she almost overflowed the batter. Nicky just gave a small smile and wiped up the mess on the counter. 

“Wow,” Nile finally breathed out. “Didn’t expect that.” 

Nicky just shrugged his shoulders. Then he opened the lid to the simmering shrimp and grits, to check in on it. Nile leaned over to see it bubbling as it should, and the heat of the steam hit her face. She took a deep inhale, savoring the smell of it. Then she opened the oven and put in the other dishes that needed to bake. 

Everything was finally settling and cooking. Nile leaned against the counter, that looked like a food pantry exploded on it and sighed. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. Nicky himself had taken a seat on the other side of the small island counter with a satisfied look. 

“Great job with dinner, Nile,” he said. 

“Don’t speak so soon.” 

“If it tastes as good as it smells, I have no worries. But I say it now because you did your best to share with us, and good or bad, I appreciate it.” 

They shared a laugh together, as Nile joined him in sitting down. It felt nice to rest her feet after scurrying around like a crazy person cooking. It all made sense why there was always an army of aunties and her mom in the kitchen on big family holidays. Cooking was not a one-person job. She found a newfound appreciation for them, and of course for Nicky who did this almost every night. 

“Maybe I’ll stick to baking instead, much easier,” she said with lips pursed. 

She watched Nicky wrinkle his nose in distaste, and his lips form a small grimace. She put her head between her arms resting it on the table but facing him. 

“What, you don’t like baking?” 

He shook his head. “It requires too much precision. Cooking you can always at least improvise a little, make it your own. But baking you cannot. Put too much or too little of one key ingredient and it gets ruined.” 

Nile hummed. “Interesting.” 

“It also does not help that I am not a good reader. They always make the font too small and it’s always a weird text choice or color,” he admitted. 

Nile perked up a little at that admission. She always wanted to learn more about her new brothers and sister in arms. But was always afraid to outright ask about their lives. Instead, she just waited for them to come to her, revealing more of themselves in the stories they told, or in the acts they did. Such as why Nicky always cooks, and why it seemed that he always gave readings to someone else to do. It’s why Joe always read out loud no matter if it was a novel or a grocery list. 

“Huh,” Nile replied. “So you’re dyslexic?” 

“Eh,” Nicky replied, tilting his head and shrugging. “That is the modern terminology I suppose. Letters were never my friend. I can read and I can write, but it just takes a lot of brainpower to focus and certain environments for me to do so. Transcribing scripture in seminary brought a lot of headaches to me, so the fathers eventually just stopped letting me do it. But they liked me because I could memorize sermons and passages by hearing them spoken. I was a good mimicker, still am I guess. Sums came easy to me, but I couldn’t show how I got to point A to point B.” 

Nile nodded along. “It's cool that you have a good memory. My mom would call you an auditory learner. You learn best by hearing it. But I have a question for you.”

Nicky hummed. 

“What is one twenty-four times one fifty-six?” 

Nicky scoffed at the math question thrown at him, but he humored her. Nile could see the gears turning in his head as he did the mental calculations. After a few seconds, he turned to her again. 

“Nineteen thousand, three hundred and forty-four, I believe,” he answered. 

Nile had thrown those two numbers randomly together, so she took out one of the many burner phones that had a calculator and entered the numbers into the equation she created. When the same number showed up on her screen she whipped her head up in shock at Nicky’s triumphant face. 

“What!” she exclaimed. “Okay, square root of uh, three hundred and sixty-nine, go!” 

His face pinched in this thinking mode. “Nineteen point two I’m guessing. It’s not an even number, so I can’t go past that first decimal point.” 

“God damn, how do you do that?” she said as she saw the correct answer. 

It was then that Joe stuck his head out from the corner, and quickly after that, Booker followed. Booker laughed as he saw the two of them. 

“I should’ve wagered money,” he said walking in. “Nicky just can’t keep himself out of here no matter what.” 

Joe slapped Booker on the shoulder. “It wouldn’t have been a high-risk wager, Booker.” 

They joined them at the counter. Nicky rolled his eyes fondly at the two of them making fun of him. He did not seem offended in the least, so Nile figured that had been an ongoing joke among them for the last two centuries and would continue forth as long as they are all together. 

“So what is it you’re doing that has Nile screaming and cursing?” Booker asked. 

“I’m giving him math equations to solve and he keeps doing it! In his head!” 

“Ah, yes our human calculator,” Joe said nodding. “It is very handy to have around.” 

Nicky scoffed and slapped Joe gently on the arm. 

“See if I help you next time you need it,” Nicky warned. 

Booker leaned in closer to Nile as the two of them went back and forth with each other. “It’s how Nicky is such a good shot. He can calculate distance and other factors in seconds to aim the shot for precision.” 

“Damn,” she sighed. 

“Damn indeed. We’re all good at sums in one form or the other. Joe takes care of finances as the former merchant in him won’t let anyone else deal with it, Andy and Quýnh are practically older than math itself, but they know it’s practical uses when needed. But no one is as good at it as Nicky is. He picked up the ideas of modern calculus pretty easily when Newton wrote about it, but I think it was because Nicky had been applying those theories long before Newton was even born.” 

“Could’ve used him in high school math class,” she joked. 

Booker snorts and they share a smile. 

**5**

“Ooh, look what I found!” Joe exclaimed. 

They were all sitting in the living room of another safe house. This time, just outside New York City. Joe came running from a room with something in his hand waving it around. Andy looked up first from sharpening her labrys, and when she saw the object she immediately stood up. 

“Nope,” she said as she walked away. “Not happening.” 

Nile followed the woman as she stalked out a back door and did not return. Booker tried to make his escape as well but did not succeed as Joe cut him off with a big smile. 

“I found this in one of the many junk boxes, and I think there is still some film in it,” he declared. 

“What is it?” Nile asked. 

“A camera. A polaroid to be exact. I think.” 

“When’s that from?” Booker asked resigned to his fate as he sat back down in one of the loveseats. 

“When were we in New York last?” 

“1970s, I believe,” Nicky said. 

“Ah yes, that makes sense. Thank you. Anyway, we’re gonna take some pictures with this bad boy.” 

Booker scoffed. “Oh no you’re not. Not of me anyway, last time you got into photography you only took bad photos of me.” 

“It’s not my fault that you spent the seventies drunk and high,” Joe replied, looking at his camera and fiddling with it. 

“Everyone spent the seventies drunk and high!” Booker exclaimed. “You weren’t innocent of it either.” 

Joe hummed but otherwise ignored Booker. He then took a step forward and a bright flash went off. 

“ _Fils de pute! Fous-toi,_ Joe,” Booker cursed as he slammed his eyes shut. 

Joe just looked happy as he watched the small photo emerge from the bottom of the camera, and he took it, allowing it to be exposed to create the image. He waved it back and forth for a moment before looking at it. He let out a boisterous laugh and handed the photo to Nicky who just raised his eyebrows, and then handed it to Nile. 

It was a terrible angle of Booker, making his forehead look bigger than it is, and the flash washed him out terribly. He was in the middle of saying something and his eyes were squinting. Nile hid her giggles behind her hand as she gave it back to Joe.

As the only person who had been born after the advent of photography, Nile knew how to work a camera, no matter what kind. When Joe asked her to pose for her photo, Nile did so, knowing what angle she needed to make herself look best. She gave a nice smile like she was taking a school day picture. When it came out it was significantly better than Booker’s, and she liked the way the colors looked. She took it from Joe to keep for herself, which Joe did not protest to. 

Nile had gotten up to get something to drink when Joe turned to Nicky for his photo. When she came back with her glass of apple juice, she saw that Joe was looking at the photo with heart-shaped eyes. 

“Oh, it is so beautiful, hayati. The most beautiful photo ever captured of you!” Joe declared. 

Nicky had recently cut his hair again, so it was reminiscent of the first time Nile had met him. He was in a plain black t-shirt that had definitely seen better days. It was faded and the collar stretched just a little. Nicky did not seem to care all that much, but he was smiling because Joe was happy. Joe sat down next to Nicky on the couch to show him the photo that had been developed. 

“See how it captures your inner dynamics, your sense of destiny, your divine fire that I have fallen for all those years ago and still fall for every day?” 

Nicky just raised an eyebrow at the photo and looked to Joe who was still reveling in it. “Well it’s all thanks to a great photographer,” Nicky said. 

“Oh, you flatter me so, my heart!” Joe cried. “It is only because of my beautiful muse that I can be inspired so.” 

Nile walked over to the two of them and held her free hand out. “Let me see it!” 

Joe handed it over and Nile looked at the photo. Her eyebrows raised immediately as she saw the image before her. It was definitely Nicky, but it was an incredibly awkward looking Nicky. He was smiling but he seemed confused, his eyebrows scrunched weird, and it seemed more like he was grimacing than smiling. Like he didn’t know what to do with it. She looked at Joe who was still in heart eyes mode. 

Booker came over to see for it himself and he sputtered as he gestured between Nicky and himself. 

“What! This photo is horrible!” 

Joe stood up. “How dare you! It is the most beautiful photo I have ever seen of Nicolò, and I will not have you defame him like that.” 

Nile made eye contact with Nicky between the two men. Nicky smirked but shrugged, watching it play out. Nile took Joe’s spot on the couch, content to watch the two brothers duke it out. 

“Even Nicky thinks so. He’s only saying that because he loves you. There is literally no difference between that photo you so graciously took of me, and the one you took of him. The only difference is that Nicky actually posed, and I got surprise attacked.  _ Which you always do _ .” 

“Is it always like this?” Nile asked in a hushed whisper to Nicky. 

“Yes, it is very entertaining though, no?” he replied with a smirk. 

“Oh very much so. All we need is some popcorn. And I get why Andy left now.” 

“She is the smartest of us all,” Nicky said nodding his head. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it! I had a lot of fun writing these dynamics and stories. And thanks to Tumblr for inspiring some of these ideas for me :) they were too good not to use lol (and for reference for Booker's photo, I was thinking of that bad photo of Charlie from It's Always Sunny). 
> 
> As always, drop some comments and kudos below. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Edit: I forgot to add the inspiration for the photograph vignette. I had someone comment on it, so thanks for reminding me. The idea came from luminarai on tumblr. I don't know how to put links in so I'm just copying and pasting it here :) Check out their art, it's fantastic!!! https://luminarai.tumblr.com/post/637032193856782337/i-absolutely-love-polarcells-headcanon-that


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